Laura Mansfield
Encyclopedia
Laura Mansfield is the pseudonym
for an American
author specializing in counter-terrorism
, the Middle East
, Islam
, and Islamic terrorism. She is the former Associate Director of the Northeast Intelligence Network. Mansfield writes for various online publications including WorldNetDaily
and FrontPageMag.
, and international corporations. She was active in the embassy warden system, acting as a liaison between the Embassy security office and her employer during the 1985 Beirut hijacking
.
Mansfield heads the Strategic Translations and Analysis service which specializes in monitoring and translating Arabic language
bulletin boards, news media and communique
s from alleged radical Islamists.
and CNN International
, FoxNews, Fox News UK, Israel National Radio, BBC
, and CBN
as well as numerous radio stations across the US such as KGO
Radio News in San Francisco, America at Night, WDEL, WFED, WTOP
, the Laurie Roth Show, the Tom Bauerle Show, and the Carl Wigglesworth Show, as well as working for many unnamed Fortune 500 companies.
She was featured in the headlines in May 2004, as the investigator alleged to have originally downloaded the videotape of Nick Berg
's murder from the Al-Ansar
website.
Mansfield was the subject of a prominent feature on Arabiya TV in 2005 and was involved in communications with the web-based radical Irhabi 007
.
In 2006 Mansfield spoke on the dangers of teaching about Islam in public schools.
In 2007 Mansfield was featured on Yahoo! front page.
CNN has featured purported Osama Bin Laden videos from Laura Mansfield.
based on what she said was a "daily planner" from "Boot Camp - Class of 2000", although the judge in Timothy McVeigh
's trial ruled a defence on these grounds inadmissible as speculation.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
for an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author specializing in counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, and Islamic terrorism. She is the former Associate Director of the Northeast Intelligence Network. Mansfield writes for various online publications including WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily is an American web site that publishes news and associated content from a U.S. conservative perspective. It was founded in May 1997 by Joseph Farah with the stated intent of "exposing wrongdoing, corruption and abuse of power" and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.-History:In...
and FrontPageMag.
Background
Mansfield is fluent in written and spoken Arabic, and has spent nearly seven years living in the Middle East, working for a wide range of clients including a U.S. Embassy, the United States Agency for International DevelopmentUnited States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
, and international corporations. She was active in the embassy warden system, acting as a liaison between the Embassy security office and her employer during the 1985 Beirut hijacking
TWA Flight 847
TWA Flight 847 was an international Trans World Airlines flight which was hijacked by Lebanese Shia extremists, later identified as members of Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, on Friday morning, June 14, 1985, after originally taking off from Cairo. The flight was en route from Athens to Rome and then...
.
Mansfield heads the Strategic Translations and Analysis service which specializes in monitoring and translating Arabic language
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
bulletin boards, news media and communique
Message
A message in its most general meaning is an object of communication. It is a vessel which provides information. Yet, it can also be this information. Therefore, its meaning is dependent upon the context in which it is used; the term may apply to both the information and its form...
s from alleged radical Islamists.
Media and Public Forums
Mansfield frequently appears on a wide array of mainly-US networks such as CNNCNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and CNN International
CNN International
CNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...
, FoxNews, Fox News UK, Israel National Radio, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, and CBN
CBN-FM
CBN-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on 106.9 MHz. The station was launched in 1975, just two years before OZ FM...
as well as numerous radio stations across the US such as KGO
KGO (AM)
KGO is a news/talk-format radio station radio with offices and studios in San Francisco, California. Unlike most other American news/talk stations, KGO originates nearly all of its own programming locally. Since 1978, KGO radio has received Arbitron's number-one ranking in the Bay Area...
Radio News in San Francisco, America at Night, WDEL, WFED, WTOP
WTOP-FM
WTOP is an all-news formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Washington, D.C., serving Metropolitan Washington, DC area. WTOP is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting.WTOP is one of two all-news stations in the Washington, D.C...
, the Laurie Roth Show, the Tom Bauerle Show, and the Carl Wigglesworth Show, as well as working for many unnamed Fortune 500 companies.
She was featured in the headlines in May 2004, as the investigator alleged to have originally downloaded the videotape of Nick Berg
Nick Berg
Nicholas Evan "Nick" Berg was an American businessman who went to Iraq after the US invasion of Iraq. He was abducted and later beheaded according to a video released in May 2004 by Islamist militants...
's murder from the Al-Ansar
Muntada al-Ansar
On May 11, 2004, the website of the militant Islamist group Muntada al-Ansar broadcast a video titled "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi shown slaughtering a Jewish-American", which shows the Jewish-American citizen Nick Berg being decapitated....
website.
Mansfield was the subject of a prominent feature on Arabiya TV in 2005 and was involved in communications with the web-based radical Irhabi 007
Irhabi 007
Younes Tsouli is a Moroccan-born resident of the United Kingdom who, in 2007, was found guilty of incitement to commit acts of terrorism and sentenced to 16 years in prison...
.
In 2006 Mansfield spoke on the dangers of teaching about Islam in public schools.
In 2007 Mansfield was featured on Yahoo! front page.
CNN has featured purported Osama Bin Laden videos from Laura Mansfield.
Attitudes on Islam
Mansfield believes that "the War on Terror began nearly a quarter of a century earlier (than Sept 11th 2001), with the Islamic Revolution in Iran" and that "[r]adical Islam had declared War on America" and has stated her belief that Islamists were behind the Oklahoma City bombingOklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
based on what she said was a "daily planner" from "Boot Camp - Class of 2000", although the judge in Timothy McVeigh
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...
's trial ruled a defence on these grounds inadmissible as speculation.